Memories - Edward's Story

Summary:
Edward Masen was dying. His last few days were spent in a hospital bed, awaiting his death. Dr. Cullen rescued the young boy and gave him new life. When mysteries in Edward's old life arise, he sets out to find out the truth. Will Edward's visit back to Chicago reveal any missing pieces to his past?

Notes:
I plan on this being about Edward's life both before and after he was changed. I plan on going further than the Sylvia situation and moving on to include Edward's first impressions of the other vampires as they are welcomed into the Cullen family, as well as the Cullen's treaty with the werewolves in Forks. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!

4. The Legends Are True

My consciousness began slowly returning to me. I suddenly became aware of a slight tingling sensation in my right arm. I tried to ignore it, but it only became more prominent as the sleep wore off me. I listened for the sound of death; the sound of hundreds of voices moaning as their sickness began overtaking them.

I heard nothing.

I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling. It was vague and unfamiliar to me. I knew I was no longer in the plain, white, unadorned hospital cot that had become my home in the past three weeks. I could hardly remember the last thing that happened to me.

I remembered my sickness, Dr. Cullen, a letter, and Sylvia.

I sat upright in my bed and looked quickly around the room. There were many boxes scattered all about the room. A pile of books lay stacked in a corner, next to a half empty box. It looked as though someone was moving.

I glanced around the room again. It was completely empty except for the boxes, books, and my bed in the corner. I could see no one around.

I suddenly realized I felt very thirsty. I got out of my bed and walked off down the hall in search of a restroom.

I searched in vain for a water source, finally finding a faucet and a glass in the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water and quickly pressed it to my lips. I drank it down in one gulp, and then reached down to pour another glass. No matter how much I drank, it didn’t seem to quench my thirst. I took the glass with me and began touring the latter half of this curious house.

As I walked down the hallway, I heard a voice talking in the distance. I stopped to listen; it sounded like Dr. Cullen.

“Yes, Gerald, that’s right, I am moving to Ashland, Wisconsin,” he paused to listen to the man on the line. “Mhmm, I am taking the boy and leaving on the evening train.” He paused again. “Alright, Gerald, thank you. Good-bye now.” I heard the sound of the receiver click and his footsteps advancing.

I was soon face to face with Dr. Cullen.

“Oh, Edward! I see you are awake.” I startled him.

“Yes, Sir, I was wondering, umm, do you have something to eat? I’m rather starving.”

Dr. Cullen’s face changed instantly. His new look almost scared me as he gazed into my eyes with another of his intense stares.

“Edward,” he sighed. “I think there is something you should see.”

“Dr. Cullen?” I wondered what could be so important. Could it be bad?

He silently led me into the back room and to the mirror on the wall. He gestured his hand for me to gaze into the mirror.

I gasped at my appearance. My fair, white complexion had turned almost marble while I slept. Now my skin tone looked strangely grey. My eyes had changed from their normal color to a deep golden hue; my hair now had a heavenly golden-red glow.

I reached up to touch my face; it felt as hard as stone. I threw off my shirt and stared wondrously at myself. My chest was chiseled in ways it had never been before; my abdomen was rippled in perfect curves. I looked like a Greek statue. How could all this have happened overnight?

I suddenly felt nauseated. I quickly spun about the room, looking for a restroom. I saw an open door; I ran to it. I went to the sink and threw up clear liquid. I knew something wasn’t right.

“What’s happening to me?” I was truly scared.

It felt like I was living a nightmare; like I would wake up at any moment and find myself still lying in my white hospital cot, dying.

I looked up as Dr. Cullen handed me a towel. I dried my lips on it and set it on the sink.

“Edward, there is something you need to know. Please come with me.” He said with a tone of urgency.

I followed him into a room with several books laid out over a large wooden desk and several chairs in the corner. He sat down and gestured for me to do the same. He picked up the book nearest to him and ran his fingers over the spine. I glanced down at the title.

Dracula?

I looked back up into Dr. Cullen’s face.

“Edward,” he began. “How much do you know about vampires?”

“Vampires?” I laughed nervously. “What do you mean?”

“What do you know of vampires; their nature and life habits?”

I was suddenly confused. Why would he start talking about a mythical creature? What would be the significance in knowing what I knew about them?

“Umm … I know they suck their human victims’ blood, they create another vampire by biting the neck of a human. They also, umm, can be driven away with a necklace of garlic.”

“That is false.”

“Excuse me?”

“That is a false statement; no vampire can be so easily driven away by such a simple thing as a garlic necklace. That is a myth that has developed over the past several hundred years.”

“Dr. Cullen, why are we talking about this? Vampires aren’t real, are they? I mean, they’re just a legend.”

“Are they?”

He gazed deep into my eyes; I noticed for the first time that his eyes were the same golden shade as mine were. His face had the same pale grayish glow as mine had in the mirror, only seconds before.

“What are you saying?! I’m a … a … a vampire?!” I dropped my voice on the last word. I couldn’t bring myself to believe that I had become something of a nightmare; a bloodsucking leech, a parasite capable of taking human life to sustain myself.

“Precisely. I’m sorry, Edward. I made a promise to your mother that I would keep you alive after she died. This was the only way I could keep my promise to her. Had I not done what I did, you would be in the cemetery right now.”

I waited a few moments before speaking. What could Dr. Cullen possibly mean by telling me something as ridiculous as being a vampire? I decided to continue to play along with his story.

“So then if I’m a vampire, then you are one also?”

“Yes, Edward. My name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen, I am two hundred and seventy eight years old, and have been a vampire since I was twenty three.”

For the next hour, Carlisle and I sat in his office as he explained to me the old tales of the origin of vampires, and how they all began with a coven called the Volturi. He also explained his own transformation to me. I sat there for the remainder of the hour only half believing the stories he told me. One half of me was too stubborn to believe the tales, while the rest of me was infatuated with them and desired to know more.

He’d finally finished his stories and glanced down at his watch.

“Oh! The train is leaving in an hour. Edward, help me round up some things so we can leave.” He handed me a list of things.

“Where are we going?”

“To Wisconsin. I have been given a job in the hospital there in Ashland. We leave on the six o’clock train.”

I spent the rest of the hour gathering the contents of a list of certain important books and stacking them in a box. At the end of the hour, Dr. Cullen handed me my suitcase.

“Here, this is all your valuable belongings from your home. The rest have been auctioned off and sold, earning you a profitable sum of money. It’s all there in the bag as well as a few sets of clothes. We will buy you some more when we get to Wisconsin. Come on, let’s go, the train leaves in a half an hour.”

We left in a rush to the station. Little did I know that I would not be returning to the beautiful city of Chicago for many years. I took everything in, not knowing if I had seen it again for the last time.

I boarded the train to Ashland, leaving behind the only place I had ever known as home. I left my house, my parents, my friends, my Sylvia. Never had a moment been as regretful as the day I realized I could no longer be with her because of what I was; what I had become.